i love spaghetti. and i love making my own sauce. but mike and i do not agree on the type of sauce we favor. i like mine exactly like this recipe i posted a few years ago, with cubes of tofu and grated carrots and zucchini. while a little on the watery side, i love it because it melts right into the pasta. mike, on the other hand, always wants a more chunky spaghetti sauce that is thick enough to stay separate from the pasta and he prefers seitan to tofu. so, we’ve done some experimenting and finally came up with this recipe that we both love!
we took my old favorite recipe, replaced the zucchini with swiss chard, and chopped the carrots instead of grating them to eliminate some of the excess moisture. we used crushed tomatoes to make the sauce thicker, and used italian-style seitan that adds a really nice texture and flavor. and we spiced it up with some red pepper flakes. we hope you enjoy!
one year ago: whole wheat bread
two years ago: muhammara
three years ago: carrot oat coconut cookies
chunky spaghetti sauce
yields 6 servings
- 1T olive oil
- 1 onion, diced
- 12 (approx) crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 package italian-style seitan
- 3 carrots, peeled and sliced
- 4 leaves of chard (or any other leafy green, if chard isn’t your favorite or in season)
- 32oz can of crushed tomatoes with basil
- 12 (approx) pitted kalamata olives, chopped
- 1/4c white or red wine
- 1t dried basil
- 1/2t dried thyme
- 1/4t red pepper flakes
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- heat the oil in a large sauté pan
- add the onions and sauté until translucent, approx 5 minutes
- add the mushrooms and sauté for another 5 minutes
- next, place the garlic and the seitan into the pan and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently so nothing sticks
- throw in the carrots and chard, allowing them to heat up for another 3 minutes or so
- add the crushed tomatoes, olives, wine, and herbs (basil, thyme, and red pepper flakes)
- allow the sauce to simmer until heated. i like letting it simmer for about 30 minutes to really combine all the flavors – but if you’re pressed for time, don’t worry about simmering.
- serve the sauce over noodles, polenta, or anything else you like spaghetti sauce on!